Post by Gilvan Blight on Apr 14, 2007 9:40:05 GMT -5
Quickly: Amazing, better then the first, not for kids though.
Note: review written after about 9 hours of gameplay (on easy), still not completed the game.
Summary: The continuation of the God of War Story. Kratos the "Ghost of Sparta" starts off as the God of War having recently killed Aries in God of War 2. He is quickly betrayed by the other Gods as they felt he had gone too far. Zeus tricks him into placing all his power into the Sword of Olympus in order to defeat the Colossus at Rhodes. Zeus the Murders Kratos with the Sword. Saved by the Titan Gaia, Kratos claws his way back to the land of the living and swears vengeance and death to Zeus. Gaia sends Kratos on a quest to find the three Fates to receive the power to kill Zeus. The game is very similar to the last being generally a huge scrolling beat em up, with platforming and rhythm game like timing elements. The controls are surprisingly simple yet still allowing for some pretty complex movements. Some RPG elements exist as well as you can level up your weapons and magic, very similar to the Onimusha system. 4 Levels of difficulty exist and quite a few bonus features are promised.
The Good: it's not too short! The biggest problem with GoW1 was that I beat it the night I rented it. Not so with God of War 2. Amazing graphics. The graphics and FMV in this game look better then quite a few next gen titles I have seen. Sound quality is also excellent and in full 5.1 surround. The brutality in this is amazing. I'm sure it would turn some people off, but jumping off a Pegasus onto a Griffon, cutting both it's wings off, burying a blade in it's neck and hurtling it to the ground using the momentum to get you back on your mount it just too sweet. There are tons of 'finishing' moves and they are all a treat to watch. This is one of these games where you just get pumped over it. The rhythm sections are amazing, watching Kratos pull off amazing moves with only a few button clicks.
The Bad: Some of the puzzles are way too obscure. Many times I have been totally stumped as to what to do in a given situation. Once I even had to go grab a walk through to figure out how to get to the next room. Some of the puzzles are fun, but most are just annoying. A bit repetitive, there are some areas where you fight a few too many waves of baddies, and it can get boring hitting square over and over again.
The Ugly: platforming elements. I hate platforming elements. I have died so many times due to poorly timed jumps, or miss judged distances it's not even funny. It's nearly enough to make me hate the game, but not quite enough. Thankfully the rest of the gameplay does make up for this part. Brutally nasty and graphic. Not a problem for me, but pay attention to the M rating on this one, they aren't joking.
Overall: if you liked the first one you will love this one, it's better in pretty much every way. If you haven't tried the first one but you like action games you will probably love this as well. I can't help but recommend it.
Note: review written after about 9 hours of gameplay (on easy), still not completed the game.
Summary: The continuation of the God of War Story. Kratos the "Ghost of Sparta" starts off as the God of War having recently killed Aries in God of War 2. He is quickly betrayed by the other Gods as they felt he had gone too far. Zeus tricks him into placing all his power into the Sword of Olympus in order to defeat the Colossus at Rhodes. Zeus the Murders Kratos with the Sword. Saved by the Titan Gaia, Kratos claws his way back to the land of the living and swears vengeance and death to Zeus. Gaia sends Kratos on a quest to find the three Fates to receive the power to kill Zeus. The game is very similar to the last being generally a huge scrolling beat em up, with platforming and rhythm game like timing elements. The controls are surprisingly simple yet still allowing for some pretty complex movements. Some RPG elements exist as well as you can level up your weapons and magic, very similar to the Onimusha system. 4 Levels of difficulty exist and quite a few bonus features are promised.
The Good: it's not too short! The biggest problem with GoW1 was that I beat it the night I rented it. Not so with God of War 2. Amazing graphics. The graphics and FMV in this game look better then quite a few next gen titles I have seen. Sound quality is also excellent and in full 5.1 surround. The brutality in this is amazing. I'm sure it would turn some people off, but jumping off a Pegasus onto a Griffon, cutting both it's wings off, burying a blade in it's neck and hurtling it to the ground using the momentum to get you back on your mount it just too sweet. There are tons of 'finishing' moves and they are all a treat to watch. This is one of these games where you just get pumped over it. The rhythm sections are amazing, watching Kratos pull off amazing moves with only a few button clicks.
The Bad: Some of the puzzles are way too obscure. Many times I have been totally stumped as to what to do in a given situation. Once I even had to go grab a walk through to figure out how to get to the next room. Some of the puzzles are fun, but most are just annoying. A bit repetitive, there are some areas where you fight a few too many waves of baddies, and it can get boring hitting square over and over again.
The Ugly: platforming elements. I hate platforming elements. I have died so many times due to poorly timed jumps, or miss judged distances it's not even funny. It's nearly enough to make me hate the game, but not quite enough. Thankfully the rest of the gameplay does make up for this part. Brutally nasty and graphic. Not a problem for me, but pay attention to the M rating on this one, they aren't joking.
Overall: if you liked the first one you will love this one, it's better in pretty much every way. If you haven't tried the first one but you like action games you will probably love this as well. I can't help but recommend it.